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The Ramanujan Mathematical Society
Founded in 1985
In December 1984 the Indian Mathematical Society met at Sardar Vallabhai Patel University, Gujarat. Professor K S Padmanabhan (Chennai), Professor R Balakrishanan (Tiruchirappalli) and Professor E Sampathkumar (Dharwad) held a discussion over a lunch break at the conference and decided that they wished to publish a new international mathematics journal. To support the journal they proposed that a Mathematical Society be founded and their initial estimates were that if they could interest around 300 mathematicians to become life members they would have the necessary backing for their proposed journal. They decided on the name: Ramanujan Mathematical Society.
A founding meeting for the Ramanujan Mathematical Society was held on 30 June 1985 at the National College at Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, where Professor Balakrishnan was Head of Mathematics. The meeting elected Professor G Sankaranarayanan of Annamalai University as President of the Society. Other officers of the Society were elected and an editor-in-chief for the journal, K S Padmanabhan, was appointed. The Society was formally registered at Tiruchirappalli and began operating from 1 July 1985. In 2014 the Society described itself in the following terms [1]:-
The Society organises an annual conference. The 32nd such conference took place in 2017. Here is information about this event:-
Also, beginning in 2014, the Society, along with Azim Premji University, ran Mathematics Teacher Training Programmes at a number of centres. They described them as follows [1]:-
A founding meeting for the Ramanujan Mathematical Society was held on 30 June 1985 at the National College at Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, where Professor Balakrishnan was Head of Mathematics. The meeting elected Professor G Sankaranarayanan of Annamalai University as President of the Society. Other officers of the Society were elected and an editor-in-chief for the journal, K S Padmanabhan, was appointed. The Society was formally registered at Tiruchirappalli and began operating from 1 July 1985. In 2014 the Society described itself in the following terms [1]:-
The Ramanujan Mathematical Society is a premier national mathematical society in India. It is working for the last 28 years, with a membership of over 1000, and growing. Its members are highly educated, distinguished in many ways, university professors, along with UG-college faculty and a few students. Some of its members have been Fields Medalists, or their advisers, international and national award winners, such as Abel Prize, Bhatanagar awards, Swarnajayanti awards, or coming close to getting such prizes.The Journal of the Ramanujan Mathematical Society first appeared in 1986 with the first volume containing papers from Indian, American, French and English mathematicians such as David A Brannan, Growth rates of subharmonic functions in the plane, Ashok K Agarwal and George E Andrews, On Asai's polynomials related to the twisting operators of Finite Classical Groups, and Bernard Malgrange, Deformations of Differential Systems, II. K S Padmanabhan, the first editor-in-chief, continued in this role until 1991. V Kannan succeeded him as editor-in-chief of the Journal in 1992 and continued in this role till 1996. The next editor-in-chief was Kumar Murty who took on this position in 1997. He chose a team of relatively young but accomplished Indian mathematicians to serve as his associate editors. At this point the Journal of the Ramanujan Mathematical Society rose greatly in importance and the American Mathematical Society undertook to distribute the Journal outside India. Originally each volume consisted of two issues but, in the year 2000, this changed to four issues one each in March, June, September and December. The journal invites submissions from any area of mathematics.
The Society organises an annual conference. The 32nd such conference took place in 2017. Here is information about this event:-
The 32nd Annual Conference of the Ramanujan Mathematical Society was held at Belagavi from 23rd to 25th June 2017. The three day Scientfic programme had plenary and invited talks, panel discussion and open forum. There was a poster presentation to encourage young Masters and Ph.D. Scholars and faculty members serving in various colleges and university departments and Research Institutes. Early career in Mathematics and Industry-Institute sessions also took place which were to encourage youngsters to participate in large numbers.Although for many years the annual conference and journal publication were almost the only activities of the Ramanujan Mathematical Society, nevertheless this has changed over the last few years. The Society stated in 2013 [1]:-
... besides publications activities, its activities reaching the larger mathematical community are still very few. It is conducting one four-day, national, annual conference. Naturally, the annual conference has entirely research orientation, with emphasis on the latest research developments. It is the intention of the newly elected Executive Committee, to increase the community activities of the Ramanujan Mathematical Society by emphasizing regional meetings and regional School/Undergraduate/Postgraduate activities, all over India. The regional meetings will give much better opportunities for younger researchers to present their research, and for all mathematicians in the distant parts of India, to develop networking of like-minded people. To this end, the Ramanujan Mathematical Society has formed a Regional Programmes Committee, chaired by the President, Professor Ravindra Kulkarni. To begin with, the Committee has formulated the Undergraduate Teachers Enrichment (UGTE) Programmes. In Hindi, the word "UGTE" means "rising". We hope that these programmes will arouse, nurture and fulfil the love of mathematics among the Undergraduate faculty.In 2013-14 the Society ran a large number of Undergraduate Teachers Enrichment programmes: Group-actions in Aurangabad, Group-actions in Nanded, Group-actions in Latur, Number Theory and Cryptography in Lady Shri Ram College for Women (New Delhi), Multivariable Calculus in Pune, Complex Analysis in Vivekananda Mahavidyalaya, Burdwan, Finite Group theory and applications in Deshbandhu College (New Delhi), Graph theory and Operations research in Holy Cross College, Tiruchirapalli, Euclidean Geometry from a Group-theoretic Viewpoint, North Maharashtra University, Jalgaon, Differential Geometry in Kuvempu, Euclidean Geometry from a Group-theoretic Viewpoint, and Differential Equations in Rani Channamma University, Belgaum, Rings and Modules in D A V College, Jalandhar, and Finite Group theory in Punjabi University, Patiala.
Also, beginning in 2014, the Society, along with Azim Premji University, ran Mathematics Teacher Training Programmes at a number of centres. They described them as follows [1]:-
The aim of the programme is to hold workshops at selected schools in different cities across India. The main purpose of these workshops is to create viable platforms where teachers (and through them children) from schools across the country can share their original observations and discoveries and where beautiful results in school level mathematics can be shared, written about an discussed. Each workshop will consist of 30 high school teachers, who will participate in two workshops in a year in a city.Also beginning in 2014, the Society organised Compact Courses for Post-graduate Students [1]:-
The Ramanujan Mathematical Society has planned 'Compact Courses for postgraduate students in mathematics' to collaborate with universities / institutions to teach their students and guide their teachers in some topics in which they do not have an expert faculty. The lectures in a compact course, which will be of two week duration, will supplement the lecture program of a specific topic taught in a department. Problem-solving is an important component of the program. Each day, three hours are to be allocated for this purpose for two weeks.The Ramanujan Mathematical Society also has two series of memorial lectures.
(i) The Prof C S Venkitaraman Memorial Lectures are named for C S Venkitaraman (1918-1994). He had a long career as a teacher at Sree Kerala Varma College, Thrissur. Following his death, his children, well wishers and former colleagues have formed a trust in his memory which organizes several programmes to promote mathematics. Memorial lectures have been given at the annual conferences of the Ramanujan Mathematical Society since 1996.
(ii) The Prof W H Abdi Memorial Lecture's named for Wazir Hasan Abdi (1922-1999). He became the founder Professor and Head of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics of University of Cochin in 1977. He published the book 'Toils and Triumphs of Srinivasa Ramanujan - The Man and the Mathematician' in 1992. A memorial lecture has been given at the annual conference of the Ramanujan Mathematical Society since 2001.
It also has two series of Endowment Lectures.
(ii) The Prof W H Abdi Memorial Lecture's named for Wazir Hasan Abdi (1922-1999). He became the founder Professor and Head of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics of University of Cochin in 1977. He published the book 'Toils and Triumphs of Srinivasa Ramanujan - The Man and the Mathematician' in 1992. A memorial lecture has been given at the annual conference of the Ramanujan Mathematical Society since 2001.
(i) The Prof M N Gopalan Endowment Lectures given at the annual conferences of the Ramanujan Mathematical Society since 2000.
(ii) The Prof J N Kapur Endowment Lectures given at the annual conferences of the Ramanujan Mathematical Society since 2002.
(ii) The Prof J N Kapur Endowment Lectures given at the annual conferences of the Ramanujan Mathematical Society since 2002.
Visit the society website.
References (show)
- Ramanujan Mathematical Society website. http://www.ramanujanmathsociety.org/about-rms
Last Updated February 2018